Many window coverings such as venetian blinds, pleated shades and cellular shades use two or more lift cords, and in some installations up to eight cords. The lift cords are connected at one end to the bottom rail and pass upwardly through the shade to the headrail and then lengthwise along the headrail and through a cord lock with operating cord portions that extend downwardly as a group from the headrail. In order to maintain the bottom rail horizontal when raising and lowering the curtain, it is necessary to equalize movement of the operating cord portions of the lift cords. In some installations, the multiple operating cords are tied together in a knot to equalize movement of the operating cords with a cord pull provided to cover the knot. In some other installations for example as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,967,824 and 5,058,650, the multiple operating cords are connected together by a cord equalizer that firmly grips the operating cords to equalize movement and a cord pull is attached to the operating cords at a location below the cord equalizer. As disclosed in the above patents, the user may grasp the operating cords directly or grasp the tassel affixed to the ends of the operating cords, or grasp the cord equalizer to raise and lower the blind.
Problems have been encountered when infants or children play with the operating cords and tassels and get a limb or their head introduced or entangled between some of the operating cords. When the multiple operating cords are permanently interconnected as by a cord equalizer or a cord tassel, the cords can function as noose that in some instances has caused injury and even death of a child.
It has heretofore been proposed and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,298 to provide a cord tassel for a window covering having two operating cords, in which the cord tassel consists of two members that are retained on the lower ends of the operating cords and in which the members are detachably connected to each other to enable separation of the lower ends of the two operating cords. Many window covering installations have more that two operating cords and sometimes up to eight operating cords and this markedly complicates the problem of releasably connecting the cords. More particularly, when multiple operating cords are used, the child might become entangled between different cords or different groups of cords.